Only a handful of playersbucked the trend, the generally favourable conditions doing little to diminish the difficulty of a closing stretch that claimed some high-profile casualties.

Anyone stepping off the 15th green should be warned that the par-three 16th is the toughest on the course, with an average score of 3.462. The 17th and 18th - both par fours - rank third and fourth hardest respectively.

While 17 averaged 4.321, the final hole clocked in at 4.314.

Incredibly, there were just four birdies at the 16th, with Luke List, Sean Crocker, Ryan Moore and Jens Dantorp the members of that exclusive club.

That hole saw the joint-highest number of bogeys recorded - 60, along with the 12th - but 18 had the honour of the most double bogeys or worse, with an unlucky 13.

Among those to suffer over the last 1,207 yards of this famous links tracks were Jordan Spieth, who gave back two shots, while world number one Dustin Johnson suffered a triple-bogey seven at the last.

And spare a thought for Nicolas Colsaerts, who carded a quadruple-bogey at the 18th.